


The Gift

by BirdInTheCave



Series: The Boy and His Dog [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, More Comfort, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Number Five | The Boy-centric, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Service Dogs, minor hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:02:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23795065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdInTheCave/pseuds/BirdInTheCave
Summary: Klaus and Ben realize that Five is struggling but they know he won't be quick to accept help at all let alone directly from them. Klaus, the genius that he claims to be on occasion, has an idea. Ben thinks it's a great idea. Five? Five hates his siblings with everything he has, but maybe the dog isn't so bad.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Dog Hargreeves
Series: The Boy and His Dog [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714321
Comments: 8
Kudos: 278





	The Gift

Klaus had been plotting for a while.

No one else had noticed how Five would tense and his vision would shift out of focus. No one else had noticed how sometimes Five was jumpier than usual, or colder. No one else had noticed how dark the rings under Five’s eyes became or how sometimes he dumped more alcohol than coffee into his mug in the morning.

No one else had noticed, but Klaus had. _Ben_ had.

Ben, the silent observer. Klaus, the most empathetic of them all.

Klaus understood the far away look in Five’s eyes, the constant need to be on edge. He certainly understood the need to drown it all in drugs and alcohol.

But as much of a hypocrite as it made him, Klaus didn’t like seeing Five like that. So, one day Klaus had made an off-hand suggestion to Ben while they were alone. Ben, surprisingly, had jumped on it. Ben thought it was a great idea. If Ben thought it was a great idea then it had to be, right? Ben had been Klaus’ impulse control and common sense for _years_.

It was a lot of paperwork, but in the end Klaus thinks it will be totally worth it.

__________

A month later Five was alone in the Academy. He didn’t mind the solitude. After so many decades alone before working as a lone wolf assassin he had come to actually prefer the loneliness sometimes. It was like welcoming an old friend back from the war, bittersweet and achingly familiar.

Klaus had dragged away Vanya, Allison, and a very-much-alive Ben to go shopping at the local mall. He had been far too giddy for Five not to be suspicious but Ben had assured him it was nothing and Five had always been more inclined to trust Ben.

Diego was off at his run-down boxing gym, cleaning out his stuff from the back room. It seems he was planning on moving back in with the rest of them. Stopping the Apocalypse had brought them closer together than ever before, Five supposes, so it’s only fair Diego would want to come back and keep an eye on everyone. He was a protective young man, he always had been. Five had seen this coming.

Luther was out with Mom, taking her for a walk in the park since he couldn’t find it in his big heart to deny her. The both of them could use it, honestly. It was about time.

Five hums, folding his notebook closed where he sits at his desk and wondering if he himself should head out to go pay Delores a visit before deciding against it. He jumps down from his room into the kitchen with ease, grabbing a mug from the cupboards in this hellish kitchen clearly made for tall people and pouring himself a full cup of the murky coffee still piping hot in the coffee maker. It’s as disgusting as usual but Five can’t find it in himself to care right now. Another sleepless night, mind filled with haunting images of the Apocalypse and the first handful of people he slaughtered while under the Commission’s thumb.

He downs the whole cup and fills another only halfway, jumping from the kitchen into the living area to grab one of Reginald’s fancier bottles of old scotch. However, his task completely drains from his mind as he comes to a stop mere feet away from an intruder. A very fluffy intruder.

A dog sits obediently in the middle of the room, its pitch black tail dragging along the carpet in a steady wag. It looks like a German Shepard if Five’s limited knowledge is anything to go by but the fur pattern is unlike one he’s ever seen, only its stomach a soft tawny brown while the rest remained as dark as a starless sky. Bright brown eyes look up at him, snout opening to let a pink tongue fall out.

It takes Five a second to realize the crushing grip he has on his mug, forcing his fingers to uncurl from the handle with stiff, jerky movements. It takes a second to pry the mug from his own hand but he sets it down on the coffee table, not taking his eyes off the dog still just sitting in the middle of the room. Last time he checked the Commission didn’t have animal agents, but the Commission progresses far quicker than the normal timelines could keep up with. The mercy of being an organization out of time.

However, a slip of paper tucked neatly in the mutt’s black collar caught Five’s attention as he crouched to set down the cup. He grits his teeth. Great, now he has to touch it.

He reaches forward carefully, quickly snagging the note from the dog’s collar as if he expected the thing to attack the second the note was removed. The only response he got was the animal closing its mouth and wagging its tail faster.

Five unfolds the slip of paper and swears his vision goes red.

_Dear Little Number Five,_

_You are deeply traumatized. I don’t know if you noticed, so I figured I’d tell you. You’re welcome little buddy!_

_Doggo here doesn’t have a name yet, since it’d be rude to give him a name for you, but I figured you’d like to name him something dangerous like Butch or something. Maybe you can just name him Gun, you used one of those, right? Anyway, he’s only a year and a half but he’s fully trained! A police academy drop out just like Diego._

_On a more serious note, he’s a service dog. He’s trained for PTSD response. You just need to get your triggers and signals set up with him and his trainer then he’s just your personalized buddy._

_Just give him a chance?_

_We’ll be back later~!_

_Love, your favorite brother,_

_Klaus (and Ben)_

Five crumples the note in his fist and tosses it aside, glowering down at the dog and snatching up his mug. So much for trusting Ben. He didn’t need a service animal, he wasn’t some traumatized war veteran like Klaus. He was doing just fine, and now that the Apocalypse had been averted there was nothing to worry about anymore anyway. He dumps a good lot of scotch into his mug, filling the cup to the brim, and sends the dog one more bitter look before jumping back up to his room to complete his equations. The Apocalypse may be averted for now, but it didn’t hurt to have back-up plans in place.

__________

Five only remembers to go down for lunch because the phone his siblings got him has a built in alarm for noon he can’t figure out how to turn off. Klaus had thought it funny to turn on the parental locks and none of them could figure out how to turn them off, leaving certain things locked indefinitely on his phone like the dreaded Lunch Alarm. Ben was sympathetic to his rage and promised to find out how to fix it but that had been two weeks ago and Five was beginning to think Ben was just messing with him, now.

However, now that his concentration is broken he is painfully aware of the acute ache in his stomach and sighs. He shuts off the blaring alarm and jumps down to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. He had, admittedly, forgotten about the dog. However, even from the lower level, he could hear the mutt whining from upstairs.

…was it still just sitting there?

Five finishes his sandwich in record time, taking a bite of the peanut butter and marshmallow monstrosity he was admittedly a bit addicted to and jumps upstairs into the living room.

The dog is laying down exactly where Five had left it-- him-- letting out the occasional whine. Its tail had long stopped wagging. It looks up when Five arrives, perking up immediately, and its eyes zone in immediately on Five’s sandwich.

God, Klaus was a moron, how long had he just left this dog here without food or water? It-- he-- had clearly been ordered to sit and stay. That was just cruel, and Klaus and the rest of them had all disappeared at least four hours ago. Five sighs, taking another bite of his sandwich and weighing his options. He was very familiar with the painful, sharp ache of hunger and the dry discomfort of thirst. He wouldn’t wish that upon an innocent animal that had been dragged into his hellish family, despite how he despised the circumstances.

He sighs again and pats the side of his leg stiffly, “Come.” He instructs and the dog is up and at his side in only a second. Its tail is wagging a mile of minute, almost blurring in its excitement, and Five wonders what they have that he can feed it-- _him_.

He turns on his heel and heads down the corridor, unsure the dog would be able to find him in the big building if he just jumped back down to the kitchen. The dog follows, a good foot away as he trotted merrily at Five’s right side. Five feels a bit weird, forcing himself to walk through the halls of the Academy when he was so used to jumping to the small kitchen. He startles when the dog presses its wet nose into his knuckles, licking his fingertips as Five yanks his hand away. It wasn’t exactly a bad sensation, just… unexpected. Was his discomfort so obvious that even the dog could see it?

He shakes it off and heads down the small set of stairs leading down into their kitchen, raiding the cabinets for something that would be relatively safe for the dog to eat. Did it have any dietary restrictions? Should he be worried about giving the dog some sort of allergic reaction?

He shakes his head, deciding that for now he liked to idea of revenge much more than finding something dog healthy as he reaches up into the cabinets and pulls down Klaus’ box of horrendously bright fruit loops along with Klaus’ favorite bright pink bowl.

“Alright, dog,” Five murmurs, pouring a heaping portion of fruit loops into the bowl before setting it down on the floor. The dog is quick to step up, clearly recognizing that the floor was free reign for him. He sticks his dark snout into the sugary cereal and devours the colorful loops, rainbow colored crumbs dotting his face. Five smiles in sick satisfaction. If Klaus wanted there to be a dog in the house, then he shouldn’t mind Five feeding it his things. He grabs another bowl from the cabinets and fills it with water from the tap, setting it next to the quickly emptying food bowl before retrieving his discarded sandwich and taking a bite. He leans against the counter and grins. Maybe the dog wasn’t so bad.

__________

It was two now and Five was sat on the couch, staring down the dog sat in front of him. He just stares, elbows on his knees and chin resting on top of his hands. He wasn’t very good with names, especially for animals. He’s never really had to name anything before, had never been interested in typical names either. His siblings were much better, though Klaus’ naming ability was debatable. Maybe he should ask Vanya? She’d probably do wonders naming the dog.

“So, Dog,” The animal in question perks up at being addressed, tilting his head and peering up at Five attentively. “Klaus says you need a name. I’m not very good at that, it seems.” Five feels like the dog is agreeing with its chocolate eyes but he also feels ridiculous thinking the dog understood him at all. Talking to Delores was much easier, but he was always inclined to throw his thoughts out in the open. He had spent a lot of time bouncing ideas off of Delores but Delores wasn’t here right now; the dog was.

“This would be much easier if you could pick a name for yourself. Grace named us, most of us, she’d probably be able to pick something out for you.” But he didn’t like that idea. He felt horrifically stupid, but he wanted to name the dog himself.

The dog itself seems to smile, his tail starting to lazily drag along the carpet once more, and Five thinks the dog won’t mind a name from Five. A name _like_ Five’s.

He decides to just call him Dog.

He was right, Dog doesn’t mind at all.

__________

It’s three now and Five’s starting to get antsy. Before the Apocalypse threat was terminated he had too much to do, a lot of work and loose ends to tie up all on his own, he didn’t have to time or patience to focus on what exactly his siblings were getting up to. Now, however, he was painfully aware of just how long they’d all been gone. How long did a walk in the park take? How long could you spend mulling around the same stores in the same mall? The Commission was certainly still out for his blood and they had to know just how much his family meant to him at this point, after everything he’s demanded for them and their safety. He was a fool to lay his weakness out in the open for the Handler to use and exploit but he needed his family to be safe-- to _live_.

But what if that’s exactly what got them killed?

He let out a harsh breath and stood quickly from where he sat at his desk, kicking his chair back and stiffly pacing the small length of his room. Six steps, swivel, six steps, swivel, repeat. Dog look up from where he was laying leisurely across Five’s pristinely made bed, sharp ears perking atop his dark fluffy head as he quickly hops off the bed and makes for Five’s side.

Five, for all intents and purposes, ignores Dog and nudges the animal away. He was on edge, that’s all, and he didn’t need Dog’s help. He didn’t _want_ Dog’s help. Dog seemed to firmly believe otherwise and simply kept at it, eventually getting in Five’s way to forcefully get his attention.

“What?” Five snaps, glaring down at Dog and willing the animal to move. The anxious energy was building beneath his skin, creating a weight in his chest that made it feel almost impossible to fill his lungs with air. He needed to think, pin point exactly where he thought his siblings would be and get there to check and see if he really had anything to worry about. They wouldn’t even know he was there.

Dog doesn’t respond, of course he doesn’t he’s a dog, but instead presses his weight firmly into Five’s legs. It’s steady, and constant, and Five can feel every breath Dog takes in and it makes the weight in his chest shrink. He sucks in a long, shaky breath of his own and subtly pushes back into the steady warmth that Dog provides.

He doesn’t know how long he stands there, he feels like time simply stops for him and waits for him to collect himself. Gather the pathetic pieces that had started to seep through the cracks in his worn armor. Dog breaks him from the stupor by pressing his cold nose to Five’s numb fingers once again.

Five, in response, runs his fingers through the soft fur on Dog’s dark head.

He’s glad no one was here to see this.

__________

It’s four-thirty when Five hears the front doors open. He’s back in the living room, sat on the floor with Dog curled up at his side. The couch can be unfamiliar sometimes, almost too comfortable, but Dog didn’t mind sitting on the floor with him while he scribbled down notes into one of his many accumulating notebooks.

“We’re home!” Klaus sings, and Five can imagine him making some sort of extravagant pose and jokingly expecting the others to admire it. He hears the ruffle of shopping bags and Ben’s snort of laughter and assumes his mental image has made its way into reality.

“Five? Are you down here?” He hears Vanya call, hesitant but still warm. Part of him wants to stay silent, wonders if she was in on this cruel joke that Klaus and apparently Ben had decided to play on him. The note had only been signed by his two brothers, however, so he assumes she hadn’t been part of their plan. Besides, Vanya had always made for some of the best company in their horribly dysfunctional family.

“In the living room.” He responds, not quite a yell but loud enough to be heard by in family in the foyer right next to him.

Before he knows it Klaus, Ben, Allison, and Vanya have entered the room. They each have a few shopping bags from a multitude of different stores but Allison and Klaus easily have the most, bags hanging from their arms in a cacophony of color and texture. Klaus’ smile is almost painful, bright and expectant and far too teasing for Five to like.

“Say a word, and I’ll skin you alive and drown you in lemon juice.” He threatens, watching with that same sick satisfaction from earlier when Klaus pales just so. The smile doesn’t falter, however, so it’s not a complete victory.

“Did you get a dog?” Vanya sounds shocked, staring at the dog like Five had a dead body nestled into his side rather than a large German Shepard.

“We got him a dog.” Ben supplies and he smiles apologetically when Five turns a deadly glare in his direction.

“He’s a service puppy!” Klaus exclaims, startling Dog and earning happy tail wag. Klaus coos but plows on, “Did you name him?” Bringing his hands up to cup his cheeks while waiting impatiently for a response.

Five shrugs, shutting his notebook and accepting that his siblings would only be a distraction if he tried to keep working. “His name is Dog.”

Allison snorts, “Of course it is.”

Klaus pouts, “That’s boring.”

“I think it’s fitting.” Vanya pipes up, setting her own two shopping bags down on the table.

Ben follows her lead, ignoring Klaus’ indignant squawk, and sets down all of his bags put one. He reaches into his last bag and pulls out a simple, black dog harness with light gray lettering on the side that clearly read “working dog: do not pet” and passed it to a wary Five who hesitantly took it. “I know you probably don’t like this,” Five huffs, understatement of the year, but he gives Ben a chance. He always did have a weak spot for numbers Six and Seven. “But I don’t think it’s a bad idea. His paperwork is in the main vest pocket. Besides, he likes you.” Ben smiles, almost teasing as he gestures to what is clearly a very happy Dog.

Five rolls his eyes, but doesn’t protest. He’d give it a chance. For Ben.


End file.
